My ancestors, they hail from . . . the redlands of Texas . . . and the marshes of Maine . . . the plantations of Georgia . . . and the courts of Spain . . . and from a hodgepodge of places . . . betwixt and between . . .

Search BeNotForgot

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

1913 :: Gettysburg Reunion

One hundred years ago . . . in July of 1913 . . . aging veterans of the war between the states were gathered on a hallowed battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania . . . amongst those survivors were representatives of the 5th Maine . . . and one of those regal gentlemen was Peter Brackett, the youngest of thirteen children said to have been born to William Brackett, a veteran of the Revolutionary War . . . the originals of the photos in this collage are from Peter's photos . . . and they were last known to be in the possession of some of his kinfolk in Lynn, Massachusetts . . . In 1913, the State of Maine offered to pay the expenses and arrange transportation to Gettysburg and back for any Maine resident who had participated in the battle in 1863 and who wanted to attend the 50-year reunion . . . it is known that he attended, so mayhaps this veteran of the 5th Maine, Peter Brackett, accepted Maine's assistance in making that sentimental journey . . . In this photo, Peter Brackett (1838-1927) is standing in the yard of the home he shared with the family of Eva Mae Smithnee Brackett (1874-1936) . . . this Eva was known as Grammie Smith to the Mother of the Keeper of this family history blog . . . and she was raised as the daughter of Peter and Lizzie (Merrill) Brackett . . . click on Eva's name in this paragraph to read the rest of the story about her connection to this Peter Brackett, who, as it turns out, is also a 3rd great-grandson of the same Anthony Brackett who is the 10th great-grandpa of the Keeper of this family history blog . . .